About Sgt. John Wheeler, of Fairfield

Baptized on 27 Feb 1624/5 at Cranfield, Bedfordshire.

JOHN, Fairfield, s. of Thomas of the same, brot. from Concord by his f. wh. rem. with Rev. Mr. Jones and others a. 1644 to Fairfield, there is on the freemen's list, 1669, was had in respect, rec. gr. of 100 acres from the Assemb. was rep. 1671, 2, 4, and 7, d. early in 1690, leav. large est. to wid. Elizabeth and thirteen ch. whose names, with the inv. tak. 8 Mar. of L1,566, were, with their ages, Judah, or Judith, 29; John, 26; Elizabeth 23; Thomas, 21; Mary, 19; Rebecca, 18; Joseph, 16; Hannah, 14; Abigail, 10; Obadiah, 8; Ann, 6; Jonathan, 3; and David or Daniel, I. Perhaps the wid. was a sec. w. and liv. sev. yrs. aft. his d. for distrib. of the est. was made so late as 3 Apr. 1700 to ten ch. being all the bef. ment. exc. first, third, and tenth, wh. no doubt, had dec. It is observa. that no d. had then been m.2

He had 14 children, thirteen of whom were mentioned in the distribution of his estate in 1690.

He accompanied his father to Fairfield in 1644. In 1654, he was made executor of his father's estate, inheriting by the will his father's lands at Fairfield. He was the owner of considerable property before his father died, as his father had several times deeded to him valuable parcels of land. In 1673 the town granted him eight acres at Black Rock, bounded on the East by the creek and on all other sides by his own lands. He was also granted one hundred acres by the General Court.

He was one of the richest men of his time in the colony, and was the third largest taxpayer in Fairfield township in 1681, when he paid tax on 1004 acres of land.

He was Representative from the town in 1671, 1672, 1674, 1677.

He died intestate in the latter part of 1689 and on April 5, 1690, the Court at Fairfield appointed his widow and his son John to administer upon the estate, which inventoried March 8, 1689-90, £1656 4s. 6d.

Children:

2720. JUDITH WHEELER, aged 29.

2721. JOHN WHEELER, aged 26.

2722. ELIZABETH WHEELER, aged 23.

2723. THOMAS WHEELER, aged 21.

2724. MARY WHEELER, aged 19.

2725. REBECCA WHEELER, aged 18.

2726. JOSEPH WHEELER, aged 16.

2727. HANNAH WHEELER, aged 14; m. Samuel Wheeler, No. 7913.

2728. ABIGAIL WHEELER, aged 10; m. July 28, 1703, John Brinsmead.

2729. OBADIAH WHEELER, aged 8.

2730. ANN WHEELER, aged 6.

2731. JONATHAN WHEELER, aged 3.

2732. DAVID WHEELER, aged 1.

Source: The genealogical and encyclopedic history of the Wheeler family in America, Page 1, Issue 594 (Google eBook) Albert Gallatin Wheeler, American College of Genealogy, 1914 - Reference - 1257 pages